Would you not just be better off with standard battery and a portable solar charging kit for extended periods of stationary camping ? From what i see, solar technology is like computers/cell phones - we pay less and less for more and more capability.

Here is another idea, going along the lines of solar. Yeah the normal deep cycle is i'm sure a lot cheaper. I've had my Energizer deep cycle battery for about 2 years and so far not a bit of hassle. I also have to still do some heat shield for it too.

I had some sort of solenoid system which was $#@%.... I threw this out and fitted a CTEK 250S dual system. All you do is connect this box to your main battery, and your 2nd battery gets charged from there. You also have the facility to simply connect a solar panel to that. That CTEC is not cheap but is worth every cent for me, as my 8 year old son could have connected it up its that easy and it just lays on top of my fuse box. It also will not drain the main battery when charging the 2nd battery.

If you have a solar panel fitted it will regulate the whole thing for you.

Yeah the heat issue can be problematic, but for me personally I don't like the thing of having a battery inside the cabin.... just my opinion.

I don't yet have a lead crystal, I am still ruunning a deep cycle. But after four years it is tired now, which is why I have been investigating.

Now because I travel with four people in the car, I have a huge space issue. During December I towed a trailer (a little Venter) and my fuel consumption rose from about 5km/l to 3.5km/l, and for this reason I am not prepared to try that again.

Therefore, the battery must live in the engine compartment, and bulke solar panels are problematic as well. Anyway I tried one of those in december too, and it was not even nearly enough (although my half-dead battery probably contributed).

But the lead crystal will last longer (ti should do about twice to three times as many charges as a dep cycle under normal conditions, and even more when abused) so I think it is worth the money.

Solar power will help, but I feel it is still too expensive and fragile. They also don't last forever, and show a fair amount of degradation themselves.

Just to comment on Big Red with the alternator problem
don't let the "mechanic pull wool over your eyes...there are many other options to go
David in bela bela
Graham in Valhalla
bogertman can also maybe help with aftermarket model